April 29, 2009

A Red Line delay on the morning commute last week showed some real improvements in passenger communications. That's a topic I've been harping on for years, and one for which the CTA has been showing some improvement.

First, I noticed all the station turnstyles were out of order and the gate to the platform was open. Then I encountered a semi-crowded platform at Morse -- a rare sight around 7:15 am. Both were good clues something was amiss.

Within a minute or so, the station attendant announced the delay was caused by a sick passenger at Loyola. She also said that those who entered for free could take alternate routes, and those who paid would get a voucher from her.

About two minutes later she announced the emergency was over, and trains would resume shortly. Our southbound train pulled into the station a minute later.

But with all the backed-up trains, delays continued. Fortunately, our motorwoman took the time to thoroughly explain what was happening.

She told us about the medical emergency. Then she mentioned that a Red Line that had been diverted to Track 1 earlier to bypass Loyola now had to move back to Track 2. And another train had door problems to further foul things up.

She also said that anyone who needed late slips should report that Run 815 had a medical emergency and subsequent door problems at Addison and Belmont.

This all resulted in a 35 minute delay on the Red Line south that morning. But at least we knew why.

Postscript: Some passengers complained the "CTA did not have a clear plan of what to do" during at the Blue Line Logan Square station. Clearly there's still work to be done on communications plans.

April 28, 2009

I've been in New Orleans at the Jazz Festival for the last four days, and certainly missed a boatload of CTA news. So for the record, we're catching up on it today.

But first let me say that traveling by New Orleans trolley to the festivals grounds sure seems like the way to go. The cars are old and rickety, the windows are all open and people are practically hanging out with every limb.

But of course, if we had such a transit mode in Chicago, it would be vilified.

NABI buses - return to sender: it should come as no surprise that the CTA has determined the 225 60-foot articulated buses it had pulled from the road in February are unsafe for the road. The CTA already had been embroiled in a lawsuit with North American Bus Industries. (Chicagobus.org has some of the details on the issue here.) Now we'll have to see how this latest chapter in the saga plays out.

Crime jumps up on trains, buses: The Sun-Times reported last week that robberies increased by 77% on the CTA, when comparing 2008 with 2006. The cops blames riders with iPods and laptops are not paying attention to what's happening around them. The cops have been harder at work in arrests. "Police made 4,933 arrests on the system last year, compared with 4,576 in
2007."

The CTA says there were more riders in 2008. And the police point out that there are still fewer crimes per capita on the CTA than in Chicago in general.

Regardless, it's still all a bit unnerving.

Plastic shields for bus drivers.And speaking of transit safety, the CTA recently has equipped about a quarter of it buses with heavy plastic shields to protect bus drivers from unruly passengers, according to a Tribune column. Some drivers are not that happy about losing the close contact with riders. While some others like the fact that the barriers block the cold air - and passenger germs.

April 27, 2009

The CTA reader guys have rallied and overtaken the women in the latest CTA Tattler UNscientific poll on who's reading what on their commute.

Last month, you may recall I reported seeing 21 El readers, and 17 of them were women. I encouraged guys to put down their RedEyes and Blackberry devices and show the women that they know how to read. And boy did they ever.

This time, 17 out of 29 people I observed reading in the last month were men. Here's what they all were reading:

A People's History of the United States - man in his early 30sThe Ball is Round; A Global History of Soccer - guy in his early 30sThe Bible - guy in his late 30sRabbit, Run - woman late 20sSuper Crunchers - woman in her late 50sIdentity Crisis - guy in his 30s (alternating reading with CTA map)Crime and Punishment - guy in his 50sThe AA Blue Book - guy in his 20sThe Life of Elizabeth I - woman in her 30sNo title - guy in upper 20sNo title - woman in mid-20sSony Kindle Reader (no title) - guy in his mid-40sNo title - gal in her mid-20sTwelfth Night - guy in his 30sThe Women - gal in her 30s, sitting next to guy in his 50s I mentioned last time reading the same bookNo title - guy in his late 30sDesire - woman in her 60sWork and Love - woman in her early 30sThe Bible - guy in his mid-30sAnne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl - girl in late teensThe Collector - woman in her mid-20sA Portrait of the Artist - guy in his early 30sThe Overlook - woman in her early 30sThe Savage Detectives - guy in his late 30sThe Shack - guy in his late 20s Ghost Train to the Eastern Star - guy in his late 50sA Year in Provence - woman early 30sAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle - guy in late 20sEngaging the Muslim World - guy in his upper 30s

April 24, 2009

Weekend service alerts over the next few months certainly will contain these words:

"We are making track improvements to prevent slow zones and improve rail service along the Blue Line."

From 10 pm Friday till 4 am Monday, trains will operate on one track between Grand and Damen. Folks will board and exit on the Forest Park-bound side of the platform. The slow zone work is being funded by federal stimulus money. More on this here.

Lots of running, parades, and a helicopter. Buses are being rerouted around the Wrigley 5K Run, the Ravenswood 5K Run and the Chicago Día de Los Niños Parade. Plus, another exciting helicopter lift, this one at 2 N. Riverside Plaza. All the details are in the CTA Weekend Service alerts.

Not a CTA sign. But funny nonetheless. Courtesy of Pophangover. and hat tip to Erin.

April 23, 2009

The Red Line motorman starts to get chatty with instructions as we head south during the morning commute.

Between North Avenue and Clark and Division, he implores standing passengers to move into the middle of the cars and away from the doors. He warns that more people would be boarding soon. He also asks people to step off the train to let people more quickly exit at their stops. "Don't worry, I'll wait for you to get back on board."

Between Chicago and Grand, he is quite pleased with our compliance:

"Aw, nice job you guys. I knew you could do it. I really like CTA passengers. You are the best."

Riders can view preliminary findings and recommendations of the proposed Orange Line extension to Ford City Mall from 6 till 8 pm tonight (April 22) at Richard J. Daley College in the lobby adjacent to the auditorium, 700 S. Pulaski Rd.

And a Yellow Line meeting on the extension to a proposed new terminal near Old Orchard mall is set for 6 till 8 pm Thursday, April 30, at Niles North High School auditorium, 9800 N. Lawler Ave. in Skokie.

The CTA helpfully reminds us about the FTA's New Starts process:

"The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts program requires transit
project proposals to proceed through a process of planning, design and
construction. The FTA process consists of five formal steps: Alternatives
Analysis, Environmental Impact Statement, Preliminary Engineering, Final Design
and Construction. The Alternatives Analysis study is designed to examine all the
transit options available and determine a locally preferred alternative."

Cubs night game fun begins. I'm a day late in reminding you that this season's night Cubs games has started, impacting the evening commutes of many North Siders. Correct me if I'm wrong South Siders, but the impact of night Sox games on the evening commute is just not as severe.

First, the Cubs fans go to the park earlier because there's plenty to eat and drink around Wrigley. And there are more clueless Cubs fan tourists. The Sox fans for the most part are locals who know their way around.

If you're going to Wrigley, there are plenty of CTA choices enumerated here, including the expanded Purple and Yellow line service for the night games. A friend at work told me she writes the dates of the night games in her calendar so she can prepare for the masses. If you're like her, click on the continuation for the dates.

April 21, 2009

Almost $88 million in federal stimulus funds will allow the CTA to repair all the slow zones in the Blue Line tunnel, from Clinton on the Forest Park branch to Division heading to O'Hare.

The CTA in March had announced a $56.6 million construction contract to repair the slow zones in the Dearborn tunnel. The announcement Monday shed more light on the whole project.

The CTA press release gives some details on how the work will be staged:

"The first leg of work [began] April 17 and [will] continue through August. Work is scheduled for weekends only and will affect rail service at the Division, Chicago and Grand Blue Line stations.

"Demolition work began the weekend of April 17 and will continue the weekend of April 24, requiring single track operation of northbound Blue Line trains from Grand to Damen.

"Beginning in May, Blue Line rail service will be suspended between Western/Milwaukee and Clark/Lake on many weekends, but bus shuttles will operate as a substitute for Blue Line rail service.

"During the next phases of work crews will focus on the track from Clark/Lake to south of Grand, followed by work from Clark/Lake to Clinton."

The work will create a total of 400 local construction jobs.

Mayor Daley in the release answers the question some might have about the other tunnel work in the past:

"Last year, we did what we could afford to do and focused on the sections of track that were in the worst shape. This stimulus money allows us to go back in and replace everything that we didn’t get to replace last year,” Daley said.

April 20, 2009

State legislators on Friday got a firsthand -- and uncomfortable -- look at just some of the myriad public transit capital projects that need funding for fixing.

The uncomfortable part came in an un-air-conditioned ride on a Pace bus from a Cicero Metra station to a Loop CTA El platform, according to a Daily Herald report. Oh, the irony of it all.

The idea was for the RTA to give state legislators a firsthand look at crumbling infrastructure and vehicles in disrepair on all three area transit systems. The hope is that legislators will finally pass a long-term capital spending bill -- something we haven't had since 2004.

Gov. Pat Quinn would fund a $25 billion bill through an income tax hike. About $10 billion would be earmarked for transit. But some Democratic lawmakers prefer to raise the gas tax, and funnel more of those proceeds to transit, and less to highway spending. Such blasphemy, say the Downstaters!

There are many ideas to fund this pressing need. All we need now is the political will and leadership to get it done before May 31. After that, a supermajority of 60% of legislators must approve any spending plan.

April 17, 2009

The BeerAdvocate is sponsoring its 4th Annual CTA Pub Crawl at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Local Option. The beery jaunt is focused on the North Side around DePaul, Wrigley and Andersonville. Check the map here.

CTA Tattler hope to pull off its own pub crawl sometime in May. Stay tuned for details. But it definitely will feature a combo of Red, Brown and Blue line rides connected by buses on Bus Tracker. Gotta love modern technology guiding your drinking.

O'Hare Blue Line overnight single tracking. The CTA warns that "due to work on the northbound track, a single track will be in effect for Blue Line trains affecting boarding at the Grand, Chicago and Division stations from 10 p.m. Friday, April 17 until 4 a.m. Monday, April 20." And, trains will operate at 15 minute intervals throughout the weekend. As they say, allow extra travel time.